Comments on: profile of a litterbug http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/ a place where nature, photography and writing meet Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:48:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Duncan http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45485 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 10:21:57 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45485 Happens over here too Bev, unfortunately, some people are just disgusting. My birding mate found a deposit, including documents identifying the miscreant, the local authorities rounded him up. The landfill used to be free, but since they imposed hefty charges illegal dumping has increased. Happens over here too Bev, unfortunately, some people are just disgusting. My birding mate found a deposit, including documents identifying the miscreant, the local authorities rounded him up. The landfill used to be free, but since they imposed hefty charges illegal dumping has increased.

]]> by: burning silo http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45416 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 02:26:03 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45416 Susannah - I don't generally investigate vacant lots near urban areas, but on the occasions when I do, there's often some very senseless dumping of objects such as you've described -- old sofas, carpets, appliances. You have to wonder why people do it when there are probably much easier (and normal) ways of disposing of an object. Weird! - Cathy - Yes, we're careful when picking up stuff... we wear rubber work gloves and use tools to pick things up. We were too tired to plant the little trees today, so I'll have to find a good place for them tomorrow. I'm sure they'll do well. Susannah - I don’t generally investigate vacant lots near urban areas, but on the occasions when I do, there’s often some very senseless dumping of objects such as you’ve described — old sofas, carpets, appliances. You have to wonder why people do it when there are probably much easier (and normal) ways of disposing of an object. Weird!
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Cathy - Yes, we’re careful when picking up stuff… we wear rubber work gloves and use tools to pick things up. We were too tired to plant the little trees today, so I’ll have to find a good place for them tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll do well.

]]> by: Cathy http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45387 Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:19:31 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45387 Some people are pigs. It's just a sad and scary fact. Some people are angels. Bless the angels who pick up after the pigs. I hope you're careful around the bio-hazards. Those two tender, but stalwart little pines are a nice metaphor for you and Don. May they thrive under your care. Some people are pigs. It’s just a sad and scary fact. Some people are angels. Bless the angels who pick up after the pigs. I hope you’re careful around the bio-hazards. Those two tender, but stalwart little pines are a nice metaphor for you and Don. May they thrive under your care.

]]> by: Susannah http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45351 Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:06:58 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45351 I would have said that the problem is less evident here, in the BC Lower Mainland; at least the park areas are relatively free of big stuff. An occasional glass bottle in places where teenagers congregate, graffiti litter (paint cans, brushes, pop cans) in underpasses; not much else. But the vacant lot across the street disillusioned me. It is about the same as a downtown vacant lot, except for the lack of condoms. Why would anyone haul the shell of their old dryer half-way across a field -- just the shell; it's a mystery what they did with the motor and drum -- when the city garbage disposal has a yearly "spring cleaning" program that allows you to stack literally whatever large objects at the edge of your lot for them to pick up? Is it too much to stash that shell in your garage until spring? The same goes for heavy half-rolled carpets; it would be easier to roll it nicely, leave it at the side of the garage and drag it to the curb in the spring. And would leave the vacant lot as a nice dog-walking/berry-picking/bird-watching site, to boot. People, sometimes, are incomprehensible. I would have said that the problem is less evident here, in the BC Lower Mainland; at least the park areas are relatively free of big stuff. An occasional glass bottle in places where teenagers congregate, graffiti litter (paint cans, brushes, pop cans) in underpasses; not much else.

But the vacant lot across the street disillusioned me. It is about the same as a downtown vacant lot, except for the lack of condoms. Why would anyone haul the shell of their old dryer half-way across a field — just the shell; it’s a mystery what they did with the motor and drum — when the city garbage disposal has a yearly “spring cleaning” program that allows you to stack literally whatever large objects at the edge of your lot for them to pick up? Is it too much to stash that shell in your garage until spring?

The same goes for heavy half-rolled carpets; it would be easier to roll it nicely, leave it at the side of the garage and drag it to the curb in the spring. And would leave the vacant lot as a nice dog-walking/berry-picking/bird-watching site, to boot.

People, sometimes, are incomprehensible.

]]> by: burning silo http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45323 Sun, 29 Apr 2007 14:17:38 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/29/profile-of-a-litterbug/#comment-45323 John - If you do enough hiking, you've sort of "seen it all" as far as how people will trash the environment. A couple of years ago, while hiking along a nature trail in a forest about 15 miles out of the city, Don and I came upon a big heap -- about the contents of a trunk or back of a pick-up truck, or empty glass injection bottles with the labels torn off, piles of old syringes and a bunch of clothes and belongings -- just dumped to the side of a section of trail that was accessible in a vehicle. I photographed the site, then when we got home, I put all the photos up on the net, called the city forestry department and the police, and reported the thing. I ended up having to go out and meet the police and lead them to the site, and then they got a hazardous waste crew come in and remove all the stuff --it was a crappy job for them as we had had snow and freezing rain, so all this nasty junk was sort of frozen to the ground and into the ice. Not all that long after, when the city dump stopped accepting tires as waste, on the same section of trail, we encountered a huge mountain of tires that had obviously been trashed by a tire shop or perhaps a farm that didn't want to pay to have to dispose of the tires. Other things seen in the forest were demolition waste that had probably been hauled in by those doing building renovations, and just regular household trash. I photographed any examples I came across and sent it to the city forestry staff as well. Around the same time, the city fire department had to respond to a number of calls for burning stolen cars that had been torched in the forest -- wonderful, especially considering that we had drought conditions that summer and the forest could have been burnt to the ground -- and we're talking about an area of a few thousand acres. Anyhow, after enough of this crap, the city finally put some locked gates on the roadways into many sections of the forest so that the only ones with access are fire departments, city crews and the police. It has made a huge difference to the condition of the trails and in reducing the amount of trash dumping. John - If you do enough hiking, you’ve sort of “seen it all” as far as how people will trash the environment. A couple of years ago, while hiking along a nature trail in a forest about 15 miles out of the city, Don and I came upon a big heap — about the contents of a trunk or back of a pick-up truck, or empty glass injection bottles with the labels torn off, piles of old syringes and a bunch of clothes and belongings — just dumped to the side of a section of trail that was accessible in a vehicle. I photographed the site, then when we got home, I put all the photos up on the net, called the city forestry department and the police, and reported the thing. I ended up having to go out and meet the police and lead them to the site, and then they got a hazardous waste crew come in and remove all the stuff –it was a crappy job for them as we had had snow and freezing rain, so all this nasty junk was sort of frozen to the ground and into the ice. Not all that long after, when the city dump stopped accepting tires as waste, on the same section of trail, we encountered a huge mountain of tires that had obviously been trashed by a tire shop or perhaps a farm that didn’t want to pay to have to dispose of the tires. Other things seen in the forest were demolition waste that had probably been hauled in by those doing building renovations, and just regular household trash. I photographed any examples I came across and sent it to the city forestry staff as well. Around the same time, the city fire department had to respond to a number of calls for burning stolen cars that had been torched in the forest — wonderful, especially considering that we had drought conditions that summer and the forest could have been burnt to the ground — and we’re talking about an area of a few thousand acres. Anyhow, after enough of this crap, the city finally put some locked gates on the roadways into many sections of the forest so that the only ones with access are fire departments, city crews and the police. It has made a huge difference to the condition of the trails and in reducing the amount of trash dumping.

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